Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1887-09-22
LAW AND ORDER SUSTAINED.
Synopsis of Opinion by Justice Nagruder
in the Anarchists Case

case and its origin, Judge Magruder,
speaking ably for himself and the court
says:
About the first of May, 1886, the work
ing men of Chicago and other industrial
centers, were greatly worked upon by
outside influences and greatly excited.
especially as to the eight hour movement,
ETC., etc. In the midst of this excite
ment meeting was held May 4, 1886 at
the haymarket, which was addressed by
the defendants, Spies, Parsons and
Fielden and while the latter was making
the closing speech at some time
between 10 and IL o'clock in the evening,
several companies of policemen, number
ing $50 men In all, marched into the
crowd from their station on Desplaines
street and ordered the meeting stopped.
As soon as the order was given some one
threw the bomb which caused the fatal
ties. Il was undisputed that the bomb
was thrown and that it caused the death
of Degan. It is conceded that none of the
convicted threw the bomb with his own
hands. The plaintiffs in error are
charged with
BEING ACCESSORIES TO THE FACT.
Some OF the counts in the indictments
charge the defendants with being present,
aiding and abetting in the throwing of
the bomb; others, that not being present,
they advised encouraged and abetted
such throwing. The court then quotes
chap. SO, div. 3, sections and 3, of the
revised statutes Of the state of Illinois,
and the judge says: eff the defendants
advised and encouraged, aided or
abetted in the killing of the
policemen, they are as guilty as
& Iol +oI~ 3.
lives In their own hands. If any of them
stood by and saw or aided in the throw
ing OF the fatal bomb, each of the aiders
and abetters are as guilty as him who did
the fatal deed. 1t is charged that the de-
PENDANTS were united and mad
ooNsP1RFD TO DO THIS AWFUL WORK
and that their common design was full
fIM.t The opinion shows that while
noNperhaps q combination of the same
GUY its there was desire on their sew
ertN i'arts and purposes to accomplish
the A!me ends.
The questions presented are: Did the
defendants have the common purpose or
design to murder these police? Did they
combine for that purpose. and was the
result of such a combination death to the
men who were guardians of the law? Who
made the bombs that killed Degan? The
honb was round, and as big as a base
ball, says a credible witness, and another
witness says, saw the bomb and knew it
was round bomb. The court following
the description of the various bombs in
use or known to anarchist science
correctly mentioned four different vari-
cites and concluded that the most dead
ly of them
WERE MADE BY LOUIS LING,
judging from what had been found in
his possession aad his acquaintance with
William Seleger, who was a carpenter,
and who made his appearance in Chicago
in 1885, and who seemed to be an expert
in bomb making, and in March, 1886,
brought dynamite there. The court
quoted some experiments made by
the gentlemen in their peculiar
trade, all of which goes to show
that these two men were experts in their
business. The evidence shows that these
two men, April 80, 1886, the Friday before
the Hay Market meeting, met and Lingg
brought to Seliger's house large wooden
box, three feet long and from Is to IS
inches high, and that it contained dyna-
mite, and that he (Lingg) spent that
evening Ia filling dynamite into gas pipe
and globular shells. He was also assisted
by number of persons and SeIiger
among them.
UPWARDS OF FIFTY BOMBS.
were finished that afternoon, and
it appears to have been continued until
the very evening of the haymarket meet
ing. The record goes on duplicating
others, especially one Huebner, who was
seen working at some coil fuse, and
Lingg, Seliger, Theilen and Herman,
who were frequently engaged in casting
and melting in Selger's kitchen. Then
follows description of the premises.
Pieces of shells made by Lingg, were
subjected to a chemical analysis,
and were found TO be composed
of a certain percentage of tin, and
the remainder Of lead and anthony
iron and zinz, and out of the four
bombs examined the per centage varied
but slightly, and pieces taken from Deg
ans body and those found at Lingg's,
after his arrest, were the same in COM
position. The evidence goes on to fuTth-
er complicate Lingg's connection with
the terrible affair so closely that escape
for him would be impossible. After
fastening the evidence upon Linggs
guilt, the court asks the question: "Why
did Lingg
MAKE THE BOMB WHICH KILLED DEGAN!"
10 answer this it becomes necessary to
examine the character of the association
with which these defendants were con-
nected and It's aims. There were no ques-
t1ons about this organization nor little
about its objects. Its plat
form was published by certain bureau
of information, called the Alarm and
Arbeiter Zeitung and that paper. the
court quotes, quoting many familiar ex-
tracts from the latter incendiary sheet
OF course among them are peculiar ideas
of communists, adjustment of titles TO
lands and that sort of freedom which is
far beyond or ages In the rear of modern
civilization, and in some of these articles
the charge is made that state, churches,
schools and press are In the pay and I'M
der the sway of capitalists and the labor